Using Vintage Frames in Your Home Decor

Vintage or old picture frames are great item to use you in your home décor. You probably have some old frames in a closet that you can repurpose or you can buy some at a thrift store or new at a big box store. I have used frames in all sorts of ways in my home.

Framing a picture or print- This seems obvious but some frames are just ugly. You can take an old frame from the 80's or any other decade with ugly frames and make it something you would be happy to display. I like to spray paint frames. Spray painting several frames makes for a nice, cohesive statement. Take a look at a high end catalog like Pottery Barn to find inspiration for photo frames. A lot of the time, they will show frames on the wall that are all the same color.

Empty frame display- This is a great way to fill up a wall but not make it too loud. It's also a good option for a small space where it would be difficult to enjoy art work. I have a set of 3 old frames in my bedroom. The bottom frame is my favorite. It's old and is chipping. The other two are just older frames that I bought at a local thrift store. I have seen people hang wreaths from the inside of empty frames or window frames. It's fun to also hang something like a vintage plate on the wall inside a frame.

Chalkboards- Right now chalkboards and anything painted with chalkboard paint are really popular. To make a chalkboard, you'll need an empty frame or a frame with something like the particle backing or even glass inside. I have sprayed the chalkboard paint on the glass inside a frame before and it turned out great. I have also had a piece of really thin plywood cut at Lowe's to fit inside my large chalkboard. The pictures that I have included in this tutorial show me spray painting a really ugly plastic frame that had a cardboard print in it. It turned out really well and I use it a lot for parties to write out the menu.